“That would explain some things,” I said. “Every time she spots him and calls the police, the guy disappears. I’ll check her phone when I go back over there.”
“Don’t be surprised if you don’t find anything,” he said. “It’s too obvious. The guy would be better off using a couple UHF receivers. They make them to look just like pens, or those little outlet adapters-you know, the kind where you plug it in and you’ve got three outlets instead of one? They put the receiver right in there. That way, you can hear everything that’s going on in the room. All the time, not just on the phone.”
“That’s gotta be against the law, right? I know they can’t prove he broke into her house, but if they catch him sitting there in his car, listening to her?”
“I’ll bet you he’s got a nice metal box in the front seat,” he said. “With a lock. He sees them coming, he just throws it all in there. They can’t open it without a warrant.”
“Leon, how do you know all this stuff?” I said. “Never mind. I’ve seen all the catalogs you get. I’ll look around her house and see if I can find anything.”
“Good man.”
“By the way,” I said, “we’re officially hired.”
“I’ll come down right away.”
“Leon, you have two broken ankles.”
“My wife will drive me.”
“Leon, you’re not coming down here. I’ll call you if I need anything.”
When I hung up, I pictured him sitting in his bed, banging the telephone on his head. I was sure he’d be driving his wife crazy for the next few hours.
I called Whitley’s number next. I got the same monotone recording asking me to leave my name and number. The guy had no future as a telemarketer.
“This is Alex McKnight,” I said. “I’m a private investigator working for Maria Zambelli. We know you’re following her, Whitley. And we know some other things, too. I’d like to meet with you and talk about it. She’s prepared to make your client a very generous offer, so let’s all be adults, eh? No more slinking around like juvenile delinquents. My partner says you’re making us all look bad.” I left my number and hung up.
Almost immediately, the cell phone in my coat pocket rang. I dug it out and hit the button.
“Alex, it’s Maria.”
“Maria, listen very carefully. Don’t say a word. Okay? Just say yes or no, I mean. You got that?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, look at your phone, very carefully. Try taking the receiver apart if you can. If it’s one of those old- fashioned models, I mean. With the mouthpiece that comes off. Is it that kind of phone?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, try unscrewing it, see if there’s anything in there besides the transmitter.”
I heard the scraping of the plastic as she unscrewed it. A few moments later, she screwed it back on.
“No,” she said.
“Okay,” I said. “My partner thinks it’s more likely that he put a receiver in the room, anyway. Is there someplace you can go, like a closet?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Say a couple things and then say good-bye. Then go in the closet.”
“That sounds good,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it. Good-bye.”
A minute passed. Then her voice came back in a whisper.
“Do you really think he bugged the place?” she said.
“It’s a good possibility. Why else would he break in?”
“I don’t like this, Alex.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll look around when I get there.”
“Chief Rudiger stopped by,” she said. “What did you do to him?”
“We just had a friendly chat,” I said. “No big deal.”
“He wanted to know why I hired you. I told him I was scared and I wanted you to find Harwood for me. He didn’t seem to like that too much. I don’t think he’s real happy about me living in his house right now.”
“So why even stay?” I said.
“Let’s just finish this, Alex. Then I’ll get out of here.”
“No sign of our man in the Cadillac?”
“No, but it’ll be dark soon. I don’t like being here alone. I want to go out and get some dinner. I don’t suppose you’d want to join me.”
“Go do your usual thing at Rocky’s,” I said. “I don’t think I’d be welcome there. I’m gonna make one more call and then I’ll go out to your house. I mean, if that’s the way you want to do this…”
“Yes,” she said. The woman knew how to whisper a yes. I felt it go right through me. I tried to picture her face.
Bad idea, Alex. Exactly what you don’t need right now.
“I’ll see you at the house,” I said. “Be careful.”
I hung up the phone and sat there for a long moment with her voice buzzing in my head. Then I called the hospital.
“Dr. Havlin, please,” I said. “I’m calling to find out about Randy Wilkins.”
I was on hold for a few minutes. Then the doctor came on the line.
“Mr. McKnight,” he said. “Mr. Wilkins is in recovery.”
“How does it look?”
“I removed the fragment,” he said. “Now we just have to wait. If he’s going to regain consciousness, it should be in the next forty-eight hours.”
I thanked the doctor and hung up.
Forty-eight hours, Randy. If I didn’t have other things to do, I’d go there and wait. I want to be the first person you see when you wake up.
It was dark when I left the motel. You shouldn’t have let it get so late, I thought. You should be at her house now.
Relax. She’s not even there. She’s at the bar, having dinner.
The cell phone rang. I picked it up and hit the button.
“Alex,” she said. “Where are you?” Her voice was low again.
“I’m on my way.”
“He’s here.”
“He’s where?” I said. “Where are you?”
“I’m at home,” she said. “It was just too weird being at Rocky’s. The way he was looking at me when he found out about me hiring you.”
“Are you in the closet again?” I gunned the accelerator. I was still a good twelve miles from Orcus Beach.
“Yes,” she said. “I just went upstairs and looked out the window at him. I used the binoculars this time. He turned the light on in his car for a second. I could see he was wearing earphones.”
“Okay, just relax,” I said. “I’m on my way.”
“He looked kind of big, Alex. And ugly.”
“Just sit tight,” I said. “I’ll be there soon.”
“What if he comes to the house again? What if he breaks in here?”
“He won’t,” I said. “He knows you’re there.”
“Maybe he wants me to be here this time,” she said. “Alex, I’m scared.”
The signal wavered. Goddamned stupid piece of crap. “Maria, are you still there?”
“I’m here.”
“Do you want to call the police? If you do it from the closet, he won’t hear you. They’ll be able to catch him this time.”
“I thought they can’t do anything to him. You said that yourself.”
“They can put him through the wringer,” I said. “But ultimately, no, they probably can’t charge him. My
